Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Joe Blanton

The comment was only meant to emphasize the A's willingness to develop pitchers and move them just prior to when those pitchers are expected to enter their prime. this is something that is not new to Billy Beane and the organization, going back to
Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.

that being said, the comment has been removed.

I'm offended by your submission and editting to appease his being offended. Now appease me and submit damn it, by putting it back.

I REALLY hope the Reds get Blanton -- as a Brewer fan, that is. Blanton is an overrated product of a pitcher's park. Put him in Cincy and I have no doubt he'd post an ERA over 5.00. Beane is going to make a killing on this trade, the way things are sounding.

Tim, you and your staff do a great job with MLBTR.

I'm curious as to your reasoning/philosophy on one type of attribution that you use:

At times, I think that it can be a little bit misleading to represent an entire team blog's opinions on an issue with the thoughts of one front page writer.

Often on MLBTR, I'll read something like "AthleticsNation/McCoveyChronicles/Team Blog X thinks that _______ for ______ wouldn't be a good deal."

This, to me, is a little bit misleading for your readership. Sometimes the article you link to ends up being written by a front-page writer (who are sometimes, but not always, the most knowledgeable sources on the site about their team), and sometimes the comment section of the diary you link to ends up refuting what was presented.

Point being, the text that MLBTR has written surrounding the link is at times deceptive or misleading, because it implies that the entire team site, or at least the majority of its fans, are advocating that move.

I'm sure of an easy fix to this; I know you don't have time to read every comment or recommended diary on every team blog. Perhaps mention the front page writer's name?

It IS accurate to write, "Grant of McCoveyChronicles writes that the Giants haven't addressed any of the needs he wanted them to at the start of the season."

It would be less accurate to say, "McCoveyChronicles is pushing for the Giants to trade ______ for _____"...because the entire site isn't pushing for it.

Again, thank you for what you do - the site is terrific.

The Blanton weigh in. I like it.
I wish they would just trade this guy-is he really worth all this rumor talk? Santana and Bedard certainly are, but Blanton is just a decent pitcher.

For the Reds sake, I hope Bailey is not involved in this trade at all. I also think moving Votto is highly unlikely unless the Reds feel he cant play 1B. I think Encarnacion is ready to have some great years here so 3B for Votto is not an option.

Why all the hate on Beane? You can't blame him for Mulder getting hurt. He took a gamble and traded a top LHP for a great prospect and two middle relievers, and his gamble paid off. On the flip side Tim Hudson for top prospect Dan Meyer went the opposite direction for him.
The Reds have traded with the A's in the past, and in my opinion have gotten the better half of the bargain every time.

""This off-season, the Oakland A's are once again reaffirming their position as the AAAA minor league system for starting pitchers."

- A very poorly thought out comment, and very rude. Oakland is a rebuilding team and is dealing other players besides their pitchers. Your statement doesn't even make sense, Blanton, Haren, and Zito were all good quality ML pitchers, not AAAA at all. This is a poorly written article and very offensive. I am a fan of Oakland, but I am a bigger fan of KC and I know what it's like for your team to be called a farm system by ignorant national beat writers who call themselves fans but really only root for the Cubs or Yankees and don't understand the economics of baseball at all. Please do not make comments like this again"

I have an idea. Cry me a fucking river.

The weird thing here is that Blanton has managed to develop this trade value, through doing almost nothing special. He's pitched like a 3/4 starter in the 2 spot in the Athletics' rotation, so he's being marketed like a #2 starter. He doesn't strike out a lot of guys, and they bat .271 against him.

He is also a very good example of how pitchers in Oakland have enhanced their value thanks to the park they pitch in. Blantons career home/road splits:
Home: 22-15, 3.48 ERA, 250 BAA
Road: 20-19, 4.70 ERA, 292 BAA
I didn't cherry pick any numbers, his numbers are better at home across the board.

He clearly benefits from pitching at home, and has clearly enhanced his trade value because of it. He should be seen as a good workhorse #3. Instead he's being marketed as a solid #2 and its working. He should be worth one top prospect, one good prospect and one guy from the lower levels. It appears he'll net 2 top prospects and a third good prospect instead. That is called nearly a whole league being dumb I guess.

Uhh you're argument isn't as strong because its showing only one years worth of numbers and sort of cherry picks numbers because overall his numbers aren't terribly impressive. Mine was showing a three year span and clearly shows that he benefits from pitching in Oakland. Even if a pitcher just feels more comfortable with the crowd, that would not make a 1.22 difference in his ERA home/road splits. I seriously doubt he's a top 30 pitcher. Lets think about this: Beckett, Sabathia, Carmona, Wang, Verlander, Peavy, Lackey, C. Zambrano, Webb, Escobar, Francis, Halladay, Hudson, Penny, Harang, Pettitte, Vazquez, Santana, Haren, Hamels, Matsuzaka, Smoltz, Oswalt, Felix Hernandez, Bedard, Kazmir, Cain, Buehrle, Shields, Billingsley, Weaver, McGowan, Rich Hill, Gorzelanny, Snell, Sheets, Wainwright, Burnett. And there's a bunch of young guys that could very well be much better as well: Lincecum, Gallardo, Bonderman, Garza, Danks. Okay I'm getting bored of listing guys. There are a great deal of pitchers that are better than Blanton. More than I listed.

You know what would be awesome? If there were such things as park adjusted numbers.

nice posts scribbletone.

sribbletone: If I'm Beane, or any other GM, I'm throwing out year 2006 (Bad Year - Personal/Divorce Issues). In 2005 & 2007 he WHIP'd 1.22. He doesn't walk people. And, he pitches into the 7th & 8th innings on a very, very consistent basis.

I'm not saying Blanton is worth 3 out of 4 Top Reds Top Prospects. But, he's worth Cueto & Votto.

I've seen Blanton pitch a lot of games. He has poinpoint control, and he's getting better.

I wouldn't mind seeing the A's keep Blanton. For everything he gives - Low WHIP, Innings Eater, Durable, Bulldog... he's worth a couple minor league studs (who may never, ever pan out: See Dan Meyer, and a ton of other "Top Prospects")

Side Note; I don't want to write anything political but I have to. This blog is excellently written and enjoyable every day. Please do not adjust your writings to the whims of those who are "offended". Racial, Rude or prejudice, ok Take that out. Your opinions are why we come here. Good writing is built on strong opinions that are not always backed by the masses.

P.S. If you get offended by something written please make sure the team is at least your favorite."I am a fan of Oakland, but I am a bigger fan of KC" Good thing nothing was writen bad about KC.